Quote edited for brevity.

Which is why so much of the US tech industry has outsourced to other nations, India being one notable example. The best ones do of course get transplanted to whatever location makes their work most efficient, but all in all, the US is a rather extreme reference.

I do agree with your general points however, but for the fact that comparing to any traditional employment reference, will not always make sense, as the bounty taker might be unemployed, still a student, in other words, that employment reference might be out of reach anyhow.